Rashid Al Dhaheri and Keanu Al Azhari: two Emiratis on the F3 grid in 2027
The 18-year-olds have signed with Van Amersfoort Racing and Hitech, a step towards the first Emirati seat in Formula 1.
The UAE will have two drivers in the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2027. Van Amersfoort Racing announced Rashid Al Dhaheri on 15 October, a day after Hitech confirmed Keanu Al Azhari, The National reported. Both are 18, and they will form the first Emirati pairing on the F3 grid.
Al Dhaheri joined the Mercedes Junior Driver Programme in March 2025, the first driver from the Middle East to do so. Racing for R-ace GP in the 2026 Formula Regional European Championship, he finished fourth with three wins at the Red Bull Ring, Monza and the Hungaroring, eight podiums and a spell as the first Emirati to lead the standings. "Every step has to be earned," he said.
Al Azhari started in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship with the Yas Heat Racing Academy and joined the Alpine Academy in March 2025. He was runner-up in Spanish F4, sixth in GB3 in 2025 with Hitech, and won the Spanish Winter Championship in Eurocup-3. "To become the first driver from the UAE to compete in FIA F3 is a milestone I carry with immense pride," he told The National.
Both came through Ethara's Formula 4 programme, Khaleej Times reported. Ethara chief executive Saif Al Noaimi told Arab News: "Both of those drivers could be in F1 in as little as two years." The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend runs from 3 to 6 December at Yas Marina Circuit.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2026Race day Sun 6 Dec · Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi See ticketsSource: The National, The National, Khaleej Times, Arab News
